By Anthony O. Goriainoff
FirstGroup PLC said Tuesday that it will sell all but two items of its legacy Greyhound property portfolio to Twenty Lake Holdings LLC for around $140 million, and that it expects to complete the sale in December.
The FTSE 250 train-and-bus operator said that following the sale, its exit from residual Greyhound assets will be substantially complete at an aggregate net value of more than $160 million. The company added that this was ahead of expectations.
FirstGroup said it also completed the sale of a site in Denver for net $9 million in August and that some of the proceeds were applied in further derisking residual Greyhound pensions liabilities.
The company said that the book value of the Greyhound properties sold since the year end was around $60 million as of March 26, and that as a result it expects a profit on sale of around $90 million to be booked in fiscal 2023.
“The sale of these residual Greyhound properties is another milestone in refocusing FirstGroup on our strong positions in bus and rail in the U.K.,” Chief Executive Graham Sutherland said.
Shares at 0714 GMT were down 1.60 pence, or 1.3%, at 123.40 pence.
Write to Anthony O. Goriainoff at anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com
